


Tony and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

by SailorChibi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Play, Baby Tony Stark, Bad Days, Carrying, Changing Tables, Crying, Cuddling, Diapers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Happy Ending, Headspaces, Hurt/Comfort, Infantilism, Pacifiers, Platonic Cuddling, Poor baby Tony, Some angst, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Wetting the bed, alternate universe - littles are known, bad days all around, because i am a sucker for carrying, but really just all the fluff, daddy Steve Rogers, just goes to show sometimes the little things can make a day so much worse than anything else, little Tony Stark, little headspaces, meltdowns, non sexual age play, non sexual infantilism, pepper potts is having a bad day of her own, sometimes you just need a hug, steve rogers is the best daddy, thumb sucking, tony just wants a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 06:53:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13921719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: Tony's having a terrible, frustrating day where tons of little things go wrong. Fortunately, his daddy knows how to make it better.





	Tony and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

**Author's Note:**

> I was commissioned for a fic based on the book [Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day](https://www.amazon.ca/Alexander-Terrible-Horrible-Good-Very/dp/0689711735), but with little Tony instead. We've all had these days, but I wish we all had a Steve there at the end.

“Sir. I really must insist that you wake up. You’re going to be late.”

JARVIS’s voice just barely permeated the dream Tony was having. He blinked his eyes open, staring fuzzily through the early morning gloom at the other side of the empty bed. It took him a long moment to remember where Steve was: Fury had asked for an early morning meeting at SHIELD, and Steve had obliged. Tony hadn’t been overly bothered because they were supposed to have early mornings. But the fact that Steve was gone already was not a good sign.

“What time’s it?” he mumbled.

“It’s just after eight, Sir. Your meeting begins at 8:30am on the dot.”

Shit. Tony yawned and sat up, not _too_ concerned – he could skip showering and shaving and still make it with time to spare. He started to pull back the covers and froze when he felt the clammy, sodden sheets that were sticking to his upper thighs. The smell of urine hit his nose and he groaned, covering his face with his hands. Even though he’d worn a diaper to bed, he’d wet himself.

It had to have happened after Steve left, because there was no way Steve would’ve left him like this. Gritting his teeth, he gingerly climbed out of the bed. His diaper was soaked and overflowing, which accounted for the huge wet spot in the middle of the sheets. He knew he should take the time to clean it up, but time was ticking and he was uncomfortably aware that he _had_ to shower now, or risk a painful diaper rash if he didn’t.

“Damn, damn, damn!” he hissed, zipping into the bathroom. The soiled diaper went in the trash. Tony hopped into the shower and washed as quickly as he could, but it was still 8:20am by the time he climbed out. He dried and dressed as quickly as he could, fumbling with his tie as he ran out the door.

Thanks to traffic, it was well after 8:45am by the time Tony stumbled into the meeting room. He was met with the five displeased faces of the company they were meeting with and Pepper’s thunderous expression that promised swift retribution. Tony tried to smile at her, but all she did was glare back. He pretended not to notice, hurrying to the spot open beside her.

“Now that Mr. Stark is here, the presentation can begin,” Pepper said, turning on a professional smile. 

“Right. The presentation.” Tony pulled his phone out and scrolled through. The back of his neck broke out into a cold sweat when he realized he couldn’t find them. His assistant had prepared this presentation; she’d spent hours on it. Pepper loved it. Where the hell had he put it?

“Tony?” Pepper said.

“I just need a moment,” Tony said, quickly typing out a command to JARVIS. He was wracking his brain to remember what server he’d stored them on, but it would be quicker and easier for JARVIS to search for the documents.

“How about a cup of coffee?” one of the executives, a young woman twenty years his junior, said, taking pity. 

“That would be lovely, thank you.” He stood, feeling Pepper’s glare on his back, and made his way over to the selection. He took his time pouring a cup of coffee and doctoring it the way he liked. Thank god, by the time he sat down again JARVIS had drummed up the presentation.

“Are we ready now?” Pepper asked.

“I am. Ladies and Gentlemen –” Tony stood, splaying his arms wide, and accidentally knocked over his cup of coffee. A river of milky liquid flowed across the table. Pepper and the executive next to her both jumped up; Pepper made a grab for the contracts sitting in front of her, but it was too late. The coffee soaked the documents, turning them into a soggy mess.

Tony wanted to cry.

“My apologies,” he blurted out, steeling himself. He’d recovered from worse. 

“It’s okay. I’ll have my assistant print some more,” said the same young executive. She had a kind smile. “And I’ll ring up the janitor, shall I?”

“Thank you,” Tony said. “In the meantime, let me continue with my presentation.” He turned back to the wall and held up his phone, letting JARVIS broadcast the hologram. From the pleased murmur behind him, he knew he’d scored some points.

The presentation went off without a hitch. Between them, Tony and Pepper were able to answer every question. Tony was relieved in a way he couldn’t put into words. He knew that Pepper had been trying to make this meeting happen for weeks. The company had been less than helpful, dodging calls and fussing over contracts in a way that never failed to set Pepper’s teeth on edge. 

So Tony probably should’ve expected that the next several hours would involve going over the contract in minute, exhausting detail. His head was pounding by the time they broke for lunch, and his eyes ached from squinting at the tiny lines of print. He was also starving, since he’d gone without breakfast and hadn’t gotten so much as a sip of coffee. The sight of an assistant wheeling covered trays into the room was welcome indeed.

They broke for lunch and Tony stood up, walking over to pick out a sandwich and pour himself another cup of coffee. Little or not, caffeine withdrawal was a very real thing and he was hoping that the coffee might go a long way towards soothing his headache. And it might’ve, had he gotten the chance to drink it. When he turned to go back to the table, his elbow clipped the shoulder of the man standing beside him.

Tony barely avoided yelping out loud as he spilled the coffee all over his right arm. It wasn’t as hot as it could have been, but it still burned. The flash of humiliation, as everyone in the room turned to see what was going on, was almost worse. He could feel himself flushing as he set down his sandwich and hurried out of the room, arm held aloft to avoid spreading the stains.

Pepper caught up to him in the bathroom. “What is going on with you?” she said, walking right in.

“Men’s bathroom,” Tony said, squeezing his shirt sleeve out in the sink. The material was cold and wet against his arm.

“I don’t care. First of all you were late, when you know we’ve trying for weeks to get this meeting together and you promised you would be on time!”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Tony said. “I really am. I overslept.”

Pepper sighed. “I want to believe that,” she said, looking at his arm with a critical frown. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Barely hurts,” Tony said. The skin was pink, but he’d had worse sunburns. “I just feel like today is one of those days when everything goes wrong.” 

“Everyone has those days,” Pepper agreed, “but you need to pull it together. You can’t ruin this. S.I. is depending on it. We need this to happen. So take a few minutes and get yourself together. When you come back, make sure you’re on top of your game, got it?”

Tony nodded in lieu of responding, afraid his voice would crack if he spoke. In spite of what everyone thought, he really didn’t enjoy disappointing Pepper or anyone else. Pepper nodded back at him and left. Tony turned back to the sink once she was gone, a lump in his throat. The face looking back at him was not happy, confident or proud: none of the things that Tony Stark was supposed to be. Instead, the brown eyes in the mirror were slowly filling up with tears.

He didn't want to be big right now. He wanted to pick up his phone and call his daddy and have Steve come pick him up. Being little was so much sometimes. No one expected things from him the way they did from his big side. But if Tony did that, it would throw off the whole day. Pepper would be even more upset than she already was, and Steve would prevent him from going to hang out with Rhodey tonight - he'd insist that Rhodey come to the tower, and, while it was fun to play with Rhodey, that wasn't what they'd agree upon. 

He looked at the mirror again and realized that he was unconsciously rubbing his thumb across his bottom lip. If he started sucking his thumb now, then that was as good as admitting that the day was over. Tony couldn't let that happen. A lot of people were depending on this contract being signed, and it would all fall on his shoulders if that didn't happen. He was tired of disappointing the people around him. So he had to stop being such a crybaby and put his best foot forward. He pulled his hand away from his face.

"Come on, Stark, pull it together," he told himself under his breath. He splashed his face with some cold water to erase the tears and blotted at his eyes with a cool paper towel until the redness was gone. Then he held his arm under the blow dryer until the material was a little less soggy. The once white fabric was now brown, but as long as he kept his suit jacket on for the rest of the afternoon things wouldn't go too badly.

He took a couple of deep breaths to fortify himself and then went back to the meeting room. This time, he forewent the coffee in favor of a bottle of juice. He had to eat quickly, since everyone else was already finished. What followed was a long, slow and tedious afternoon, and then he didn't even get the chance to feel accomplished: the company decided not to sign today, stating that they had some 'things to think over' and that they 'would be in touch'. Tony really wanted to throw something at the senior executive, but managed to control himself until they were outside.

"What an asshat," Pepper said.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Tony said. It was unexpectedly cold out. His light jacket didn't seem like enough. He shivered, burrowing deeper into his clothing and wishing he'd worn something heavier. He was going to freeze tonight.

"Maybe they'll be more amenable after the gala tonight," Pepper said, pulling her phone out. 

"Wait, what? What gala?"

Pepper looked up at him slowly. "The gala for S.I. donors," she said. "Don't tell me you forgot."

"Okay, I won't," Tony said, mind spinning. He could've sworn that the gala was _next_ week. That was why he'd made plans with Rhodey tonight.

"Tony," Pepper groaned. "Honestly, you could have the decency to at least look at your calendar once in a while instead of relying on Sabrina to tell you where to go every second of the day. Yes, the gala is tonight. And yes, you absolutely have to be there. You know people always want your seal of approval when it comes to their donations."

"But I have plans with Rhodey," Tony said meekly.

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to cancel. We've been planning this gala for months. There's no way we can move it now." Pepper checked her watch. "In fact, you and I are running late. That stupid meeting dragged on for longer than I thought it would. Sabrina booked us a room at the hotel so that we could change there. Come on. You can call Rhodey on the way."

Tony really didn't want to cancel on his best friend, but Pepper was right: these kinds of galas were important, and went a long way towards keeping Stark Industries on the map. And it was really his own fault in the end for getting the dates mixed up. He tried to call Rhodey in the car, but his friend didn't pick up. Finally, as they pulled up in front of the hotel, Tony had to send a text message. His stomach churned as the message sent. All he could think about was how disappointed Rhodey was going to be - and justifiably, too. It was Tony's own fault for not paying more attention. 

This day had been one of the worst in a long time. The last thing that Tony felt like doing was schmoozing. But he didn't have a choice. He and Pepper hustled into the hotel and up to their room. Pepper's assistant had sent outfits to the room ahead of time. They changed in what felt like record time; by 6:01pm he was descending a staircase into the hotel's ballroom with Pepper on his arm. Both of them were decked out in their finest, Tony in a dark grey tuxedo and Pepper in a navy blue, form-fitting gown. 

Pepper made her speech, with Tony chipping in, and then it was time to greet their guests. They separated and Pepper went to chat with one half of the room while Tony handled the others. He pasted a fake smile on his face and started talking with the first group of people that approached him. Normally it was easy for him to remember the little details. It was something that Maria had taught him when he was just a kid: people liked it when you remembered them. That was part of what made him so good at what he did. People liked that he brought a personal touch to their conversations. It had earned him quite a few favors over the years. 

But not tonight. His thoughts were scattered and he barely felt like he was holding it together. He accidentally called Mrs. Grubber by the wrong name, and insinuated that Mr. Martin was here with his girlfriend instead of his wife. He made the mistake of asking Ms. White about her children, and completely forgot that the Yun's had no children at all. He insulted Miss Wong by asking her how her grandchildren were doing when she didn't have any and was very sensitive about her age. He forgot that Mr. LeBlanc's wife had died recently and asked where she was. He almost got punched in the face for that one, but luckily someone showed up and hustled Tony away.

Luckily... until Tony saw who it was. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Tiberius Stone looked at him with an innocent expression. "What do you mean? As I recall, you once told me I had a standing invitation to come to your events."

"That was years ago and you know it." Tony took a step back, feeling his skin crawl. Stone was one of his old boyfriends. Someone Tony had known long before the Avengers had come into his life, back when no one else in the world knew that he was a Little. Tony hadn't seen him in years, but, when Stone's eyes raked over him, that feeling of ickiness came roaring back.

"What's a few years between friends?" Stone said, stepping closer.

"We're not friends," Tony said bluntly. At any other time he probably would've stood his ground, but now right now. His pulse was hammering and Stone's presence was making him feel sick. "I have to go to the bathroom. Excuse me."

"You can't dodge me forever!" Stone called at his retreating back, laughing. That laughter was like nails against a chalkboard. Tony shuddered, picking up the pace as much as he could when the room was crammed full of people. He pushed and prodded until he was out of the room and in a mostly empty hallway. He hurried down the hall until he came to the bathroom.

There were other people inside, because of course there was, but Tony paid them no mind as he rushed into a stall. He shut the door behind him and took a deep breath, letting it out in a shaky exhale. Stone. Of all the places for that asshole to show up... he squeezed his eyes shut and sat down on the toilet seat, slipping his thumb into his mouth. His hands were shaking, he realized belatedly, hooking his index finger over his nose. He sucked hard on his thumb as noiselessly as he could, leaning forward to try and control his breathing.

It helped, a little, to be away from the crowds, in an enclosed space, and listening to the sounds of something as ordinary as a bathroom - running water, the squeak of dress shoes against tile, the soft murmur of conversation, the sound of the dryers. Eventually the rest of the bathroom cleared out. During that moment of silence, Tony made his decision. He was done. Pepper would probably be mad that he'd left before dinner was served, but Tony didn't care. His head ached and he was much closer to his headspace than he wanted to be; staying here any longer would be a stupid thing to do.

He slipped out of the stall, washed his hands and left the bathroom. He didn't want to risk going back into the ballroom, so he flagged down a waitress and asked her to tell Pepper that he was leaving. She was all too happy to pass on the message, especially once Tony slipped a hundred dollar bill into her hand. He walked out of the hotel and called a cab. Amazingly, one actually stopped for him. He climbed in and directed the driver to Avengers Tower, with the temptation of an extra tip if they got there within fifteen minutes.

Walking into the tower was like a breath of fresh air. Tony immediately felt some of the stress of the day start to slip away, though it really only made him aware of how cranky and tired he was feeling. He rubbed at his eyes as the elevator took him up to the floor he and Steve shared, wondering what the chances were that Steve was home. If he wasn't, then Tony was just going to strip down and crawl onto the closest horizontal surface and make himself into a burrito with blankets until this awful day was done.

"Tony? Is that you?" Steve called out as soon as the door opened.

"Yeah, it's me," Tony said, shuffling inside.

Steve appeared, toweling his arm. He'd obviously just gotten out of the shower. "Hey," he said with a smile. "How was your day?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Tony said honestly. It must've come out sharper than he'd intended, because the smile on Steve's face tightened.

"Okay. Well, have you had supper yet?"

"No."

"Then why don't you come downstairs and eat with the team? Clint made BBQ chicken."

The thought was tempting, but Tony shook his head. "No thanks."

"Why not?"

"I just don't want to."

"Tony..." Steve was frowning now. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Tony snapped. He didn't know what was wrong. All he'd wanted all day was a hug, and now that Steve was here Tony just wanted to be left alone. He walked past Steve and headed down the hallway, hoping that would be the end of it.

Unfortunately, Steve followed. "You have to eat, Tony. We've talked about this."

"I'm not hungry! Just leave me alone!" Tony yelled, losing his temper.

"Tony!" Steve barked. "You know better than to use that tone with me. I understand if you've had a bad day, but you can talk to me about it like a big boy. I don't appreciate you snapping at me."

That was the last straw. Steve's stern tone on top of everything else - including guilt, because none of the day had been Steve's fault - broke something. Tony burst into tears.

"What the - Tony, honey, what's wrong?"

Tony was crying too hard to answer. It had just been such a _horrible_ day. He startled when Steve touched him, but melted into the hug Steve pulled him into. He buried his face in Steve's shoulder and wailed out all of the nasty, awful feelings that had been brewing in his chest since he'd woken up that morning. Steve hugged him tightly with one arm, using the other hand to rub Tony's back and whispering soothing things in Tony's ears. It was everything Tony had been desperate for since he'd woken up that morning.

He didn't know how long they'd been standing in the hallway for before Steve moved, cupping a hand under Tony's butt and lifting him up. Tony wrapped his arms around Steve's shoulders, still crying but more quietly now. He'd been holding it in for so long that it actually felt wonderful to finally let it out, especially since Steve wasn't trying to stop him. All Steve did was sit down in the rocking chair and start rocking them back and forth, something that Tony had always found comforting. The back-and-forth movement reminded him of his mom and Jarvis.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" Steve asked gently.

Tony shook his head.

"I can't help unless you tell me, baby."

As much as Tony wanted to talk about it, he also _never_ wanted to talk about it. He whimpered instead, putting his thumb to his mouth. Steve stopped him, producing a green pacifier as if by magic. That was what Tony really wanted, and he opened his mouth eagerly. He sucked hard on the pacifier, letting out his frustration, and snuggled back into Steve's arms. Tears kept sliding down his cheeks, but Steve would never judge him for that. And sure enough, Steve just stroked his hair.

"You know," Steve said quietly, "I changed the bed when I got home. JARVIS told me what happened."

Tony flushed, embarrassed.

"It's okay. You know I'm never upset when you have an accident. But I bet it started the day off pretty crappy, didn't it?"

That was for sure. Tony nodded, hugging Steve a little tighter.

"Were you feeling little?"

Tony shook his head, then nodded. He couldn't remember exactly how he'd been feeling, but he knew it hadn't been good.

"I'm sorry, honey. I should have checked you before I left. I was in a rush to get out since Fury moved the time of the meeting." Steve kissed his forehead. "Oh, you're warm. Come here. It's time to change you out of those clothes."

Steve stood up, bringing Tony with him, and laid him out on the changing table. He carefully removed the tuxedo jacket, the tie, the dress shirt, the undershirt, the belt, the dress pants, the socks, the dress shoes, and the boxer-style pull-ups Tony wore when he was being big. With each item that was peeled off, Tony was left feeling littler. He was glad to be naked, even if it was a little chilly in the room, because it meant that he really didn't have to worry about being big. Steve was here and would take care of everything.

"Oh my god, Tony, your arm," Steve said, sounding alarmed. He seized Tony's hand in a gentle grip, looking at the raw skin. "What happened?"

That seemed to be the kind of thing Steve would insist on an answer too. It was hard, but Tony managed to whisper, "Coffee."

"Coffee? You spilled coffee on yourself? Oh baby." Steve's expression was a perfect combination of sympathy and affection. "Once we get you all nice and snuggly, I'll have JARVIS call Bruce. I bet he's got an ointment or something to put on that burn that'll make you feel a lot better."

Seeing Bruce wasn't really what Tony wanted, but now that Steve had reminded him about the burn he was realizing that it really did sting. He nodded, eyes filling with new tears. Steve patted his belly and gave him his favorite stuffed panda. Tony buried his face in his panda while Steve cleaned him up and put a new diaper on. He distantly heard Steve's cell phone beep with an incoming text, and felt Steve's hands pause as Steve checked his phone. Then Steve resumed his work, pulling the diaper up and smoothing the straps into place.

While he did, he said softly, "That was Pepper. She said that your meetings were really hard on the head today, and that she's sorry she scolded you and that you had to cancel your plans with Rhodey. She'll call you tomorrow."

The message had got through, then. Tony was glad. He hated it when Pepper was mad at him.

"You had a really hard day, huh?" Steve said. "She also said she'd had Tiberius Stone kicked out. Was he bothering you?"

Steve knew about his history with Stone, so Tony nodded. He recognized the hard look in Steve's eyes in the next instant and whimpered, reaching up for him with desperate hands. Steve shushed him and scooped him off the changing table, handling Tony with caution because of his arm. 

"Shh, sweetie, I'm not leaving. JARVIS?"

"Yes, Captain Rogers?"

"Would you please pass on the information about Stone to Natasha?"

"Gladly," JARVIS said. 

"There. Auntie Tasha will take care of it," Steve cooed, rocking Tony back and forth. "Now, we'll get Uncle Bruce up here to look at your arm. And then I'll make you a yummy bottle. Does that sound good?"

It did. It sounded better than anything else Tony had done all day. He wrapped his arms around Steve's neck to prove it, hugging him tightly. Steve hugged him back, kissing his cheek. "There's my sweet little baby," he murmured in Tony's ear. "Daddy's gonna make it all better, just you wait and see."

And Tony thought, you already have.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


End file.
